【作者】 张妍瑜；

【导师】 郭国良；

【作者基本信息】 浙江大学 ， 英语语言文学， 2009， 硕士

【摘要】 加拿大青年作家扬·马特尔的成名作《少年Pi的奇幻漂流》自问世以来,受到了批评界的广泛关注和赞誉。众多的评论(绝大部分为书评)主要集中在探讨该小说的主题以及争论故事的真伪,而对于书中的一位主要角色——一头名为理查德·帕克的老虎——却鲜有深刻的分析和阐发,这无疑是一大缺憾。本文认为,理解“老虎”对解读小说至关重要,不可或缺。全文分四大部分。第一部分主要辨析理查德·帕克的身份,发现它不仅虎性缺失,更有着似人的特征；第二部分追问和考查老虎是否确然存在。在逐一梳理了主人公Pi所讲述的四个生活时期后,本人断言：老虎其实并不存在,纯然是Pi的臆想；第三部分剖析理查德·帕克的真正身份,并渐次讨论了Pi的漂流生活的特殊性和理查德·帕克表现出的人神同性。第四部分全面论述Pi“塑造”老虎的真正动因：缘于他者的缺席,为了个人的生存,Pi在漂流过程中必须创建一个全新的他者环境,不知不觉地把他者的欲望作为自己的欲望,并通过对他者的还原,成功地度过了他的劫难。《少年Pi的奇幻漂流》并不仅仅是一部单纯的漂流小说,通过小说主人公Pi的叙述,更重要的是,通过理查德·帕克这样一只特殊的老虎,它深刻地反映了当下社会现实生活中人的精神世界。更多还原

【Abstract】 The Canadian young writer Yann Martel is best known for his Man Booker Prize winning novel Life of Pi. Ever since its publication in 2002, the book has gained great populatirity and high critical acclaim. However, much of the criticism done so far (mostly book reviews) concentrates either on the mere exploration of the book’s general theme or on the explication of the truth of the story. Regrettably, little attention has been paid to the tiger Richard Parker, one of the dominant roles in the story. Here I argue that without a proper understanding of the true colours of this tiger, elucidation of the novel would be definitely out of the question.This paper is divided into four parts. The first part deals with the definition of a tiger. A close reading of those chapters pertaining to the tiger in the story reveals not only the absence of tigerish traits, but also the pervasiveness of anthropomorphism in Richard Parker. The second part goes on to question and examine whether this tiger is ever in existence. Through tracing the animal in chronological order, I find that the tiger is purely Pi’s fabrication, whose existence cannot be really attested. The focus of the third part is on the interpretation of what the tiger is, combined with the analysis of Pi’s particular drifting life and psychoanalysis of Pi’s mental stage. In the last part, reasons why there is such a tiger are given. My contention is that, with the absence of the Other, Pi needs to construct a new Other in order to survive. Under such circumstances, he unwittingly has to take the desire of the Other as his own desire. To conclude, it is Richard Parker as the fourth ring of repair that pulls Pi through his disaster.Life of Pi is thus more than a castaway novel. With Richard Parker, it explores the psychological struggles of common people in the modern society. It is also an interpretation of our reality.更多还原